Hide And Seek
by AMKelley
Summary: "Whether we're together or apart, I'll never be ready to let go of you," Chris whispers ardently, brushing the strands of hair out of Leon's face when the wind picks up a little. "I love you too damn much."


Leon is on the balcony when Chris comes back to his hotel room, staring out across the beautiful city. There's a moment when Chris ponders on whether to close the door quietly and sneak up behind Leon, but he's quite sure that Leon knows he's here already. Chris shuts the door loudly enough to make his presence known but not in the passive-aggressive way he usually does. He figures he can play nice this time. Like everything is normal. Chris doesn't want this visit to end like their last.

Chris stands by the door for a few brief seconds, watching Leon cock his head to one side as if trying to focus his hearing on what Chris is doing behind him. Leon's attention drifts back to the city when Chris starts to approach him and a wave of tension crashes over the entire room almost instantly. Out of all the nights for Leon to come see him and he brings a bunch of baggage Chris doesn't want to deal with.

He can already feel the conflict rising between them despite the friendly banter and he's not sure if he's ready to stick around for it. Chris isn't sure if he can handle what Leon has to say. Chris knows the agent well enough to know he has something important to say, because rarely does Leon ever come to see him this urgently.

"Chris..." Leon says slowly, weighing his words for merritt, but Chris cuts him off from his train of thought before he can finish.

"How did you get in here anyway?" Chris interrupts, wanting to avoid Leon's words.

"Chris, I need to talk to you-" Leon begins to say but his voice is too shaken with nerves and gets overpowered by Chris' insecure one.

"Did the front desk give you a key or did you break in? I bet you broke in..." Chris accuses. Half of him is joking and half of him truly suspects it.

"It's urgent!" Leon almost shouts, raising his voice to a much firmer and dominant one. Leon even drives it home by turning around to face Chris abruptly.

It takes Chris aback for a moment because Leon never raises his voice... at least not at him. Even when they got into fights Leon always managed to keep a level head and stay calm and it drove Chris absolutely up the wall. Chris couldn't deny the way Leon got on his nerves or pushed his buttons because it made Leon so goddamn sexy.

Chris never actually took their disputes too seriously at the time because their quarrels would usually end in sex. Neither one was proud, especially when they picked fights on purpose just so they could relish in passionate love that was far more satisfying when they were pissed off. This wasn't one of those times though. This was real.

"I don't know how much longer I can do this," Leon tells Chris in the most cryptic way, lowering his voice to normal volume.

He looks weary, like he hasn't slept in days, and it hurts to even look Leon in the eyes. It's a very serious matter to Leon but Chris doesn't want to accept that.

"What do you mean?" Chris inquires, frozen to the threshold leading out to the balcony.

"Us, Chris," Leon clarifies like it's been ultimately decided by him alone. "I can't go on like this anymore."

"Maybe you can't but I sure as hell can!" Chris gushes defensively, cheeks burning with adrenaline. "At least I'm willing to hang on."

"You're always so hopeful even when things are going to shit," Leon whispers, handing his head and shaking it in defeat. He closes his eyes. "Why do you hang on to things you end up losing?"

"Because losing is not an option," Chris says confidently and somehow it's enough reason in his mind to win the argument but Leon is a willful bastard sometimes. "Whatever happened to your "never give up" attitude, huh? What happened to the man I knew?"

"I'm not that guy anymore, Chris. After all that I've seen I can't find the good in anything," Leon chokes out, swallowing his sobs back to remain strong. Every word hurts as it tears it's way out of Leon's throat. "I'm doing this for us. I don't want to hurt you."

"YOU don't want to hurt ME?" Chris asks in the most hateful tone because right now he does. He both loves and hates Leon. "You're a goddamn hypocrite!"

"I didn't mean it like that-!"

"Then how did you?!"

Chris is fuming now. He's angry and furious and tired of all the run arounds between them. There's a wall between them. It's an invisible one but it's always been there and this time Chris is afraid that there's no way of getting through regardless of how hard he tries or how much he throws a tantrum. Perhaps Leon's right. Maybe there's not always hope...

No! Fuck that! There is hope still!

"I work for the government, Chris..."

"I do too, remember?" Chris jabs indignantly.

"Then you, of all people, should understand why I'm doing this," Leon tells him flatly, making the ultimatum final. He face falters just slightly enough to show Chris just how much it hurts him. "Your whole team is dead, Chris."

"My team has nothing to do with this-" Chris tries but Leon is shaking his head.

"I can't stand the thought of you losing me too," Leon murmurs, choking on his words.

Chris steps onto the balcony, laughing despite himself at the absurd logic Leon has formed in his head. Leon's face turns red, picking up on Chris' laughter as a mock, and he jerks away when Chris tries to reach for him.

"I'm serious Chris! It's not a laughing matter!" Leon huffs defensively.

"Do you honestly believe breaking up with me will make things better?" Chris snorts hysterically, because in all seriousness Chris is baffled. "I'm hurting now and I haven't lost you."

Chris stops laughing because he owes Leon to be taken seriously instead of patronized. He guesses he can sort've understand where Leon's coming from but Chris would never let anything happen to Leon. What happened to his team was unfortunate, sure, but Leon was strong and determined. Leon had the will to survive anything. He's proved that on many occasions. Leon is too tough to die.

Leon's face softens a little. Chris is staring at him hard, hopefully hard enough to tell him that he's willing to go the distance for Leon no matter what, but Leon adverts his eyes out of shyness as he takes on a different, less agitated shade of red. Leon's blushing and angsty and he couldn't be more beautiful.

Chris advances on Leon even more until the agent is backed up against the railing of the balcony. Chris puts each hand on either side of Leon on the railing to cage him in and it makes Chris grin because he knows Leon could easily take him down despite their opposing physiques. But Leon doesn't try to push Chris away even with this knowledge.

"Whether we're together or apart, I'll never be ready to let go of you," Chris whispers ardently, brushing the strands of hair out of Leon's face when the wind picks up a little. "I love you too damn much."

"I love you too," Leon practically mouths because his throat is too tight with emotion to produce any sound.

Chris cups Leon's face in his big hands, stroking his thumbs across cheekbones and threading his fingers in soft hair. The light from the moon is enough to frame Leon's subtle features, leaving no shadows to disguise his icy eyes. They shine bright like the stars in the night sky around them and Chris wouldn't give this up for the world.

The wall between them came crashing down when Chris' lips pressed gently to Leon's in a chaste kiss that poured their souls into one screwed up chemical mixture that only they could ever understand. They nipped and wrestled over control for the kiss but Chris always made Leon weak. Leon was both scared and enthralled by that aspect, so much so that he lost himself in the moment when Chris deepened the kiss with their tongues.

Leon wraps his arms around Chris' neck when the latter dips down to kiss along his throat and neck tenderly. Leon arches into the contact more, finding that Chris hasn't shaved in a few days because he feels stubble. He doesn't mind it though, if anything he loves it when Chris is a little lazy with his shaving upkeep.

Leon rubs his jaw against Chris' stubbled cheek when he feels teeth sink into his neck lovingly. Chris presses his hips into Leon's, making the younger of the two wince and moan all in the same breath. It amazes Leon how Chris is able to be rough and tender all at once. But it ends all too soon as Chris pulls back to kiss Leon once more on the lips.

"I don't know how you keep finding me," Chris finally says after they break away breathlessly.

Leon smirks.

"I have my ways," Leon purrs seductively with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"How so?" Chris inquires, wrapping his arms around Leon's waist to hold him close. Almost protectively.

"You're terrible at hiding," Leon retorts playfully, resting his hands on Chris' chest as he giggles.

Somehow the terrible vibe and failed attempt to protect them both is pushed out of their minds and all that's left is love. Because it's all they need... cheesy, I know... but that's enough for them to hang onto.

"Didn't know we were playing hide and seek. Does this mean I'm "it" or something?" Chris chuckles sarcastically. "Am I going to have to chase you across the world now?"

"No," Leon says, smiling. "I plan on sticking around for awhile."


End file.
